Gypsies and Nomads
by VixenReborn
Summary: While out getting supplies, Zuko and Aang run into a group of gypsies. Zuko gets his fortune told by a blind woman. Zukaang.


Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, nor do I profit from writing this.

There was no single word that would describe the melody that reached Zuko's ears. The violin sounded lonely and mournful, but as another one joined it the tune turned haunting. He ventured through the crowd making sure his hood was pulled up adequately to hide his face. He wanted to get closer to the source. It didn't take much observation to realize that he was heading to the outskirts of the small town as the larger building became less frequent. His pace quickened as he heard the quiet crescendo growing louder.

As he neared, he realized that there were several other instruments playing, many of which he didn't know the name of or have the slightest idea how to play. They played in harmony all coming to a quiet still as woman's voice echoed out the last verse of a song accompanied only by the soft cords of a violin she played. He moved closer around the small crowd that had gathered to watch. As she finished, a man in front playing a larger stringed instrument stood and bowed and pulled his hat off and tossed it onto the ground. People tossed coins in before scattering.

It wasn't until he was bumped from behind that he realized he had been followed. Aang looked at him and gave his a sheepish smile from under his own matching cloak. They had opted for full body coverings like the cloak he had worn when he went to visit his uncle. With their hoods pulled up, no one would see Aang's arrow or his scar and recognize them. Sure running around the fire nation fully cloaked during the day looked suspicious, but in backwoods town like this one, they were hardly the only ones.

Aang walked over and threw a little money in the hat. He made a complicated hand gesture toward the man and bowed. The bow was promptly returned along with a hearty laugh.

"Its been so long since I've seen Traveler's Hand. We honor that here. Have no worries, come and have a seat," The large man gestured behind him to where several caravan wagons were pulled around a small fire a very short distance away from the road.

Zuko reached out and grabbed Aang shoulders before he could take a step and whispered in his ear, "What are you doing? This is not a good way to keep hidden."

"Relax, these people are gypsies. Gypsy and Nomad are eternal travelers. They have always gotten along well with each other, because of that. When your on the constant move, its nice to be able to find a place where your welcome. That is why they made a pact long ago to always honor each other," Aang explained.

Conflicted, Zuko didn't know what to do. More allies would be good, but Aang had been away from the world for a very long time this could all easily be used as a trap to capture the both of them. It seemed that getting along with these people was something Aang really wanted so he'd give it a chance, but he would keep his guard up he finally decided. He let go of Aang's shoulder and the smaller boy walked into the circle of caravans.

Zuko carefully picked his way over to the smaller boy who stood at the end of one of the wagons watching a woman with cards. It wasn't until he drew nearer that he noticed two things. That she had been the woman singing and that she was blind.

"I wont bite, heavy breather. You can come closer," the gypsy woman called to him.

The prince frowned, but stepped closer to the wagon to watch what she was doing. She shuffled the cards over and over with practiced ease. His curiosity got the better of him though and wondered why a blind woman would have cards and how she could even see them. From the look on Aang's face, he wondered the same thing. Unlike Zuko though, he wasn't the type to just wonder, so he asked her. She handed him a card and when he took it, he could feel the raised surface. He handed it to Zuko to let him feel it.

The back of the card made it look like any ordinary card, albeit, a little larger and aged. The front however gave it all away. It was had a picture of the ace of hearts, but the image was raised so that if you touched it, you could feel the design and tell what it was. Zuko ran his fingers across the heart one last time and handed the card back to the lady.

She took the card back and ran one hand over the surface, much like Zuko had done, but a look of surprise crossed her face.

"My name is Tenyara. I use these cards to tell the fortunes to people. I normally charge as its a nice way to get extra money, but how about I give you one for free," The blind gypsy said with her blind eyes turned to face Zuko.

"Oh, oh, he accepts!" Aang answered for him.

"Then it's settled. A reading for the heavy breather," Tenyara teased.

She placed the ace back in the deck and shuffled it four times before spreading the cards between two hands. She told him to pick three and lay them face down. She pulled them all back together and after a quick shuffle had him pick two more and place them also face down. After one more shuffle she had him pick three more, also laying those face day. She placed the undrawn pile beside her.

Waving a hand over the first three cards Zuko had chosen, she said, "These three cards are you. They are who you've been, who you are, and who you will become."

"This card represents who you were in the past," She flipped the card over, taking an extra moment to rub her hand on the image and showed a jack of spades. "This means that you were a spoiled and immature person. One with a cold nature and perhaps very bossy."

Aang laughed and said to Tenyara, "You're good at this."

"I'm merely the reader, your friend was the one who picked the cards if you recall. Just as he chose his fate, so did he choose these cards to reveal that fate. I'm only here to decipher what it all means," She told them.

She reached out her hand and turned over the next, this one revealing the king of clubs, "This is you as you are now. Your very strong. You have very good instincts and if you can continue down the road your on, you'll make a very good leader one day."

Zuko looked around, waiting to see if this was some kind of trap. All he could figure is that she must have somehow fixed it so that he would draw these cards. Someone must have told her he was the prince and that was how she knew all this stuff. Still he waited quiet as she turned over the next card to reveal the ace of spades.

As the gypsy girl rubbed her hand over the card, he brows knit together. Her face was easy enough to read that she had gotten a card that she was confused about.

"This card reveals who you will be in the future. Fate has deemed you very special to give you such strong cards in the places of who you are. This card is the strongest in the deck. It means very great power. It's also a sign of death. You will bring about a great many new things when you become this person. Ending much as you step forward into the future. Your future self hold great change."

His heart beat had sped up. Zuko didn't want to admit it. To admit that hearing his life laid out like this by a few cards would have this kind of effect. Not when it obviously had to be some sort of hoax or scam. It was merely some sort of trick.

Aang though looked thoughtful. His only experience with fortune telling had been back in that village they had saved from the volcano. Since then he had sworn that he would only think of it as just a fun way of passing time and not so much as an actual way to see the future. Though he had to admit, this seemed pretty accurate so far.

"These next two will reveal your love life and then a choice you'll be faced with in the future, because of your love. These two should be seen as separate, but together," She explained as she flipped over the first card to reveal the five of spades and then the next to reveal the eight of spades. Her hand grazed across them.

"Your love life reveals some very troubling times ahead. This card, the five of spades, reveals that you will get victory in your love life, but at a cost. Your choice in love is the eight of spades, that means your choice could mean a life in prison for someone. If not chosen carefully that is," Tenyara explained.

As the gypsy woman had talked about his love life, Zuko had felt Aang's arms come to wrap around his. When the woman had revealed that he would achieve victory in his love life, he had felt happy, but it was like being shot out of the sky when her next words about it being at a cost had struck. He couldn't help wondering if maybe it referred to the fact that he had gotten everything he had ever wanted, but had given it all up to come be here teaching Aang or that it might be about the battle they were going to soon face. The sacrifices that would be made in that battle so they could obtain peace and potentially a happy life once it was all over was a possibility. There were other options he knew, but wasn't sure if he was ready to admit them fully to himself. Still his eyes traveled over to the boy clutching his arm.

Aang knew that the grip he had on Zuko's arm had been tightest when the woman had told them about someone being potentially imprisoned over Zuko's choice. It didn't take much thought to realize that it would have been him or in some ways, still very well might be. If Zuko hadn't made up his mind to come and help him that one night long ago, then there was a great chance he would have been locked away forever. A prisoner not allowed to die, lest he be reborn. If Zuko ever chose to go back to evil, he still very well might end up like that. As if sensing his discomfort, Zuko edged closer to Aang.

"There is one last thing to note before moving on. As I said, these two cards are separate, but should be viewed together. These two together mean that you have a jealous rival. Be cautious," She warned.

Aang looked up at Zuko, curiosity in his eyes. There was a lot to be jealous about on Zuko, but who would be a rival to him? Aang took comfort when his leg brushed against Zuko's. Zuko tried to keep his face neutral as Aang's smaller body pressed itself against his. The smaller boys eyes now showing determination. If someone was going to rival Zuko, he wanted to be there to show his support.

The gypsy smiled. It was much like how Toph smiled when she saw the two of them. Needless to say, Aang smiled back while Zuko shifted his weight a little uncomfortably. He was never able to shake the feeling that while her eyes could not actually see him, she was able to read him way better then any one else he had know.

"These next three cards are your future cards. They tell you what to watch out for, what to dream for, and what to be hope lies in the future," Tenyara explained.

She flipped the first one over showing a three of spades. Her fingers ran across it and she frowned before saying, "This is the card you need to watch out for. I've found this card to be a handful. Three is a crowd. That rival of yours isn't to be lightly brushed off or else you may find yourself alone," She warned him.

She turned the second one over to reveal the seven of hearts and as her fingers touched the card she kept her frown while saying, "This card is for your dreams. It shows that you've been dreaming a lot. Not a lot of them are realistic it seems. This seems to say that your dreams need grounded a bit. Don't let things get too far ahead of you."

She flipped over the last card to show a nine of diamonds. As her fingers touched it she nodded her head once and then expressed, "This is the last card and its like a summary of what to be hopeful for. This specific card means you will come into a great inheritance. Great enough that it will effect the rest of your future. Be hopeful for this as it will change many things."

Zuko stood rooted to the spot. There were many things that he wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure where to begin or if he was letting his hope get the better of him by asking at all. He had decided earlier it was simply a trick and now he wasn't sure if he was ready to cast that all off and if he might actually really believe her. The only thing he could think to do was bow and thank her. She laughed once he did so.

"Come listen to me play again some time, but for now, I think your friends are looking for you," She said between giggles.

Aang slapped his palm against his forehead. They had both just vanished from town without saying anything to the others. They were bound to get worried once they had gathered the supplies and realized that the pair of them were missing. Aang thanked the gypsy and ran off for the road, still clutching Zuko's arm. The prince hurried to catch up with the small agile boy that was managing to drag him behind.

As they neared town, Aang's pace slowed. His expression turned thoughtful. He had finally let go of Zuko's arm and walked with his hands behind his head. Zuko looked worriedly at the boy.

"Something on your mind?" He asked

"Your fortune had a lot of spades in it. I guess we can say your good qualities come in spades," Aang joked.

"You've been spending too much time with Sokka. I bet if she had done yours, it would be full of hearts," Zuko said with a teasing smile.

Aang let out a little laugh, before spotting Katara in town. They both ran over to her to catch up on what they had missed. As she talked to them, Zuko's thoughts kept wondering back to his future self, The Ace of Spades. The card that was the strongest in the deck. He knew not too long ago that if someone had told him that was what his future would hold, he probably would have a panic attack. Now though, if that was what his future would hold, then he knew, somehow, he could certainly deal with it.


End file.
